Yoga, Commence!

Remember that Groupon I bought back in the middle of the month?
Welp, I bought it not really considering that the two consecutive Fridays following purchase would be spent out of town - both coincidentally for Tennessee trips - so I pushed off my redemption date to today.

And off I was, after work to Modo, ready to rejuvenate my practice with new instructors, a new studio and new classmates.

tokens [all over the place!] @ modo yoga |  cincinnati, oh 

FUN FACT:
I didn't realize I was stepping into a hot yoga class. I didn't mind, but let's be honest, there is some intense amount of sweating done in a 75-minute HY class that you don't typically get out of the non-heated stuff. At least not that quickly.

studio! 

^ That picture does not depict the temperature of that room, a quite sensational 100 something degrees, enough to elicit some initial sweat before class even started.

This was the most invigorating 75 minutes I've had in a long time. To embrace the mantra of yogi's in their world: I feel centered. I feel rooted, renewed and a bit of hypersensitivity even after one day to my surroundings. How's that for some tree-hugging talk? ;)

But seriously. I'm going back asap tomorrow, and I wish I could take each and every person I know with me. This class is awesome. ♥

xo | cmd

Aaaand We're Home

First things first, a hotel arm selfie ;)

new midi ring!! 

 ^^ This little midi leaf is my new favorite accessory. Many thanks to the Jondie Boutique in Franklin for this perfect find. Add that to the stack of bracelets and the Marianne-matching tattoo, and my I've got a happy arm and hand going for me.

We loaded up for the ride home and off we were, destination: Cincinnati.

Fast forward back out of the mountains and across the plains back to Ohio, and we were finally here:

i spy..... 

Home sweet home. Phew.
Rob was ready when I got home to stuff me back in the car for a date night at Mango Tree; aside from being back inside the confines of a vehicle, I couldn't have asked for a better evening; two days felt like a lot, and I'm content that we missed each other rather than the opposite of that.

It's back to the conventional office tomorrow.
ZzZz.

xo | cmd

Nashville Sales Summit, Part II

So today was the second and final session for our time at Sales Summit. We all have pages of furiously-scribbled notes and anecdotes which we'll be applying to our daily practices once we touch back down in Cincinnati tomorrow, thanks again to the guys from Afterburner.

express 2712 & the afterburner reps!
dave. carri. "whiz". cori. "duff". elisa

sittin' pretty at the awards ceremony & children's miracle network raffle!
carri. cori. elisa.

my original express family [w/ the afterburner guys]: the cinci east office!
chris. brandi. "whiz". jess. "duff". deb.

The breakout session was also immensely helpful, and before we knew it, the formal Sales Summit had drawn to a close and we were all left with the rest of our time in Franklin/Nashville at our disposal.

Our little clan of four set out to do some local shopping in downtown Franklin, which I could best describe as quaint. I love it here.

downtown franklin

franklin theatre!

Shopping!

i couldn't resist buying this guy ♥

Some things I loved, but will not be taking home [don't panic, Rob... haha]:

coasters

this wooden board reflecting words written on a cellar wall
during the holocaust [also, listen to barlow girl sing this!!]

And a few shots of my Express family ♥:

elisa. cori. carri. dave. 

cori. elisa. carri. dave. 

Other than Dave, each of us left cute little Franklin with some small treasures as we traveled back to the hotel. There was a two-hour gap to fill, so I slipped into the leggings I bought today, before Elisa and I took to the hotel back patio and lawn space.

new leggings, yay! 

^^ Because what is any trip now, without a little yoga?!

FINALLY, it was time to get country dolled up for the evening, and head to dinner.
Dave chose The Tin Angel for dinner, which was a superb choice. The food was out of this world, with matching ambiance and promise of a good night ahead.

@ tin angel | nashville, tn

We said goodbye to the Tin Angel, and made our way finally into the heart of downtown Nashville. It has been years since I've been on Broadway, but the energy and the fun hasn't changed.

street performers | nashville, tn

second fiddle, one of many venues on broadway | nashville, tn

neon signs everywhere!

selfies. for dayssss.. hahaha :p 

greetings from downtown nashville!! 

Holy smokes... [this is backdated]... what a night!
Sunday means the trip home. Time. for. BED.

xo | cmd

And OFF To Summit We Go!

Each year, Express holds its annual round of Sales Summits, in various cities around the U.S., where offices gather together to hear keynote speakers and attend relevant workshops.

Last year, our office journeyed to Detroit, and settled at a lovely hotel in the heart of a construction site. That makes for a great view in the morning [please feel free to acknowledge the sarcasm], and the group "night out" on Saturday consisted of us meandering through a smoky casino in Greek Town.

Noooot exactly our full cup of tea. We dealt with it, but decided then that we wouldn't be back.

Now THIS year, we registered for the Nashville [ok, technically Franklin] Summit, which had us excited, rather than anxious about what to expect out of our surroundings and free time.

Once I dropped Sydni off at Mindi's, I picked up Elisa and we continued on to Carri's place, where Dave eventually joined us. The four of us loaded into Dave's car, and off we were!

Here's a stock photo I pulled off Google, source unknown :(, but obviously way better than what we weren't able to see due to the fog:

[this makes me want to go back to norris lake, btw....]

Anyway, we made it to the hotel with about 15 minutes to spare before Summit actually started. Our rooms weren't yet ready, so we took advantage of the Eastgate office's hospitality and crashed their room for five minutes to transform ourselves from roadtrippers to fairly polished professionals. Downstairs we went, and there was no time wasted.

michael buckley, aka "whiz" from afterburner, inc. 

Our keynote speakers in the general session this year hail from Afterburner, Inc., which is a compilation of former military pilots, Seals and other specialists. "It's not your average group of Chairforce graduates," is basically the undertone. These guys, prior to earning roles as CEO of their current business platforms, operated fighter jets, executed covert missions and came out not unscathed, but explicitly qualified to continue on and lead other people. If you're not familiar with Afterburner, go check them out! (:

We breezed through the day's first workshop as well, a focus on the importance and implementation of social media platforms, relevant to the work we do. After that, we finally found some time to breathe, get changed and rendezvous again for our Cincinnati group dinner.

Oh, here's a nice landscape from our hotel:

2014, franklin, tn! ♥

Let's take a look back at last year's view.... yenno, just for kicks:

2013, detroit. hahahaha. gross.

So yeah. Minor upgrade, yeah?
Dinner tonight was scheduled at Top Brick in Franklin:

just a small [& blurry :( ] segment of our near 30-strong group!
elisa. chris. deb. dave. carri. cori. chuck. kate. jess. 

the ladies of 2712!
elisa. cori. carri.

pretty little lanterns at top brick!

Whew! It's been a high octane day from the time we hit Tennessee, and from what it looks like, tomorrow's going to flow at about the same pace. Tomorrow night, we'll hit downtown Nashville and see what that scene has to offer our blended little group.

For now, Elisa and I are bunkin' up here at the Marriott. G'nite!

xo | cmd

In Love, I Am.....

I certainly am.. in love.. with them:

Add caption

This was my view from folding laundry off and on tonight. I joined in a little while after all the shirts and towels were folded and put away. These two make any night worth procrastinating whatever else I was supposed to get accomplished.

Which brings me to an unscripted selfie for the night:

I call this one..... "I waited until 11:30 PM to start packing for a weekend in Nashville, because I wanted to hang out with my family, but now I'm super tired".... Selfie:

late night packing.. yay! :|

I will undoubtedly regret and likely not wear 85% of what I just zipped into my suitcase over the next 3 days.

Oh. Friggin'. Well.
I'm goin' to bed.

xo | cmd

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAMANJI!!

He's 21!

this guy (: (: 

Haha, yeah.. this one:

21, yeah! 

From two states over, I miss you friend and hope today is EVERYthing it should be - 21 years and all! :)

While Damanji was celebrating his 21st, here in Cincinnati, we were celebrating the unity that comes as a result of my overbearing amount of free time with waxed cord:

cori. becky. jessica.

THAT happened... Jessica later posted this on Facebook with the caption, "Bracelet MEGA Power," which had us cracking up for a lot of different reasons that I'll omit from this entry for the sake of that whole inside-jokes-don't-make-sense-and-aren't-funny-if-you-weren't-there thing. Meh.

Anyway, we chalked up a win and left volleyball feeling pretty decent. It's gonna be a solid week!

xo | cmd

Yogi Tea

Whew. What a day. 

Here's something on which I'm planning to focus for the rest of the week.. 

amen. amen. amen.

Namaste ~ 

xo | cmd

Love @ Whole Foods

It's Monday. It was a bit overwhelming today, a bit more than usual.
Elisa and I took advantage of a lull around lunchtime to make our way up the street to Whole Foods, and I realized it was the exact refresher I needed to get my week back on track.

Lunch:

now this is my definition of fast food ♥

We perused some inventory, and as a PSA to all of you local readers [all 3 of you, I'm sure, haha..], please take note!!

Whole Foods | September 27 | 11am - 3pm 

ADOPT-A-THON!
http://lfaw.org/

Yay, furry friends! If you're in or around the Cincinnati area in a week like I will be, try to stop by and visit the LFAW [League For Animal Welfare] setup! Anyone who knows me knows I'm the spawn of a humane society leader, by default inheriting a passion for animal welfare. 

If I'm free that day, I'm definitely stopping by! 

For now, it's a gorgeous day, work is done, and I'm going outside. 

Adios! 

xo | cmd

Road Trip Video Blog

Rob is most incredible for a few different reasons, but the most immediate today being his complaint-free undertaking of the drive home from Norris, complete with boat-in-tow and two restless pups bouncing around the backseat.

farewell for now, lafollette! 

Between conversation, I was tasked with controlling the playlist for the drive, which isn't always a strong suggestion, since I'm easily sidetracked when something catches my ear... or eye.

Here's a couple of the gems I found en route from TN > OH.


^ Lindsey Stirling, you need to stop with all that talent. ;) Although I don't understand a lick of this [French], I love it, and judging from the brief overview of user comments, it seems as though PTX did their duty of applying just accent and annunciation to the French language. Another 5-star PTX performance!

On the coattails of that PTX+Stirling collaboration, here's Lindsey adapting one of my favorite musicals.

*Sigh. Music, friends. Music does it all (:

It wouldn't be a scattered list of videos if I didn't include one of my favorites:
Yeah, this is a disconnected little post, but the good news is, we're home, we're settled and we are NOT getting back in the daggone car until we absolutely have to. ;)  G'Nite, e-world!  xo | cmd

A Day On Norris!

This is definitely a photo entry:

First, I made it a point to get up early and head down to the boat dock. The fog was starting to lift off the water, and there was only the occasional passing boat. With my mat in tow, I headed down, did some flow and sat for a bit just breathing it all in.

AND... I held this guy for a 30-count. It's not a huge brag, but I'm working into a scorpion and at this point, this is a pretty good feeling to accomplish this.

*Sigh. Okayokayokay... I've become a total hippie. Meh.
Stella joined in, for what it's worth...

happy girl! 

The sun crept its way little by little until it was visible, and then it seemed to all but leap from the mountain skyline to the top of the sky. Rob, Jesse and I did a little running around to get some grocery items [for later this evening], and then proceeded back into the boat for the meat of the day: LAKE TIME!

everywhere. | lake norris | lafollette, tn

I cannot believe it has taken us this long to discover and visit this lake. There are hundreds of miles of shoreline here, over a dozen marinas and just about everything in between. This place is heaven on earth, in my book.

We took the raft out, too, each of us taking turns. I, by the grace of wearing my favorite pair of sunglasses, did find myself tumbling over choppy wake, but I did fly - literally - a few times, on board the raft. Jesse and Rob both took spills off into the lake, but no harm was done and it was hilarious.

My run:

Jesse's run:

Rob's run (shortened by his spill into the lake, compliments of Jesse):

We rafted, then we cruised some more, then we drifted and relaxed a bit. The water was warm yet refreshing, and the clouds [as you can see] were sparse in contrast to the bright blue sky. Today... was... awesome.

♥♥♥♥♥♥ him 

We gave Rob's boat a run for her money today; we came to rest as the afternoon turned to evening in a cove, watching other boats pass by and waving to skiers and jetskiers. Rob and Jesse went for another dip in the water, while I took to laying across the front of the boat and soaking in the view of sun and sky meeting mountains meeting water.

perfect.

It was finally time to get back, so we headed on "home" to our dock, climbed up the hill to the cabin and started preparations for dinner. There is something about being in a kitchen with my friends collectively making dinner that is just.. familial to me. No TV, no cell phones, but actively engaged in something for the group. The bulk of my family lives at least 2.5 hours away; this was a small but perfect substitute for a night in with family making dinner together.

veggies!!! 

jesse doing some kabob prep work 

I kept an eye on the stovetop foods while the boys got the bonfire and the grill going. Within the hour, we had dinner and a warmed space to sit around.

dinner & a bonfire!! ♥

The table's cleared, sweats & hoodies are on, and we're watching this from the hammock:

good night, tennessee! 

I could re-do this day over and over again.
Norris, we'll be back!

xo | cmd